Stani Army

As I watched Ijaz Butt, the Chairman of the PCB, stand at the after-match presentation ceremony, there was a discernible difference between his appearance after the first twenty20 against England and the second one. After the first one, you could see the worry on his face as he tried to both listen in on what the captains were saying whilst sifting through the many excuses in his head as to why Pakistan had not won a single match ten matches in a row. At the second presentation ceremony, he looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he stood there with his head held high.

Yes, Pakistan managed to win something eventually but this win must not paper over the cracks like wins such as this have done so in the past. The management, coaching and captaincy issues still remain, not to mention the fact that we still are yet to find a settled opening pair and a reliable middle order.

Abdul Razzaq: Single handedly stopped the run of Pakistan’s 10 straight losses in all forms

What was obvious in both Twenty20s was that they followed a pattern which has become synonymous with Pakistan’s recent performances in that they found themselves in winning positions only to relinquish their hold on the game. But for the brilliance of Abdul Razzaq in the second Twenty20, this pattern would have continued for eleven straight games. Once again, it would be easy to use this as an excuse that only a few tweaks are needed here and there but you don’t lose ten games in a row if your problems are small and easily fixed.

One interesting call which came from the guys at MTJAG, was to make Abdul Razzaq captain. Before you dismiss it, consider the fact that none of our current candidates are obviously suitable and the problems we have had in bringing back the same old faces to take over as captain in the past. Would a new face in the role be a better option? Certainly, he seems respected among the players and is increasingly becoming a vital cog in the Pakistan team since his return from the ICL. It was his call-up to the World Twenty20 team which coincided with Pakistan’s up-turn and eventually lead to us being crowned World Champions. Could Razzaq be the perfect candidate to build a new team around? Many of you may have noticed his reaction after he bludgeoned the ball for six to take Pakistan home in the second Twenty20. It was the reaction of a determined and hungry man as his after-match comments clearly showed: “I was telling Fawad we should win this one. I was saying ‘you can, you will’ and we did”. Certainly, we could do with more of that attitude from all of our players.

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Rana Naved was recently awarded a central contract by the PCB after he turned his back on the ICL. He was placed into category C of the contracts, which would see him earn 100,000 Rupees a month. Since most of the ICL players were wholly blamed for joining the unofficial league and criticised for it; here we’ll take a look at what the Pakistan players are earning and whether this is enough to stop their heads turning.

Below is a list of the value of the contract in each category and it makes for some interesting reading

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Well if anyone had forgotten about Mohammad Yousuf’s talents, then they would have been well and truly reminded about what he is about in his first Test innings since his return from the ICL.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have just concluded day 2 of their first Test in Galle, a day on which Yousuf finished top scorer with 112 at a strike rate of 60.

Much had been made of Yousuf’s fling with the ICL, which all began after he had been unfairly excluded from the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup squad. Having then being brought back but rejoining the league, it was difficult to see when he would again grace the cricket field in a Test for his nation.

His comments about Shoaib Malik being chosen as captain at the time, were well off the mark but showed the mentality in Pakistan cricket and general life, where seniority is akin to superiority. But cricket has a great way of bringing people together

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I’m not sure if anyone else remembers reading cricinfo’s bulletin for the Super 8s match Pakistan played against New Zealand, but there were parts of it that made me wonder. It was written by Sidarth Monga who, in the past, has been accused by various fans of his obvious bias. Here it was in regards to Pakistan being able to recall Abdul Razzaq after the ICL cancelled his contract. Have a read of his bulletin and see what you make of it.

Sidarth Monga:

“How Pakistan would want to thank BCCI for the “amnesty” it accorded the ICL players.”

“Once the euphoria of this performance dies, Pakistan will want to thank the man returning to international cricket for allowing them to go ahead with their preferred bowling strategy.”

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Rana Naved helped his County side Yorkshire reach their target of 330 in a 50 over Friends Provident Trophy game against Surrey at the Oval. Rana smashed 53 off 24 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes and remained not out having earlier picked up 3 wickets in his 10 overs.

Since his hair transplant, Rana has been given a new lease of life emerging as a genuine all-rounder.

With the ICL having released him from his contract on request, and Shoaib suffering a skin problem, Rana should be a shoe-in for the up and coming Twenty20 World Cup.

The Indian Cricket League has released 50 players who had wanted to participate in official cricket again. The complete list has not been made available as yet but is believed to include Rana Naved and Imran Nazir. No word on Yusuf as yet.

The ICL could have quite easily have refused the requests of the players who were under contract but have shown a gentle touch befitting this gentlemen’s game that the ICC, BCCI and other boards have lacked.

The PCB may now regret withdrawing the 3 ICL players it had included in its original World Twenty20 squad.

In a previous post, Stani Army questioned why the PCB had included the 3 ICL players from Twenty20 World Cup squad only to remove them, and it seems it was a tactical ploy by the inept PCB who wanted to keep the ICC happy before the meeting in which Pakistan’s co-hosting of the 2011 World Cup was to be discussed.

Well it obviously didn’t work. Had they had any brains, they would have indeed not included the 3 ICL players at all rather than bringing embarrassment on themselves by including then dropping them.

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In another demonstration of their lack of professionalism, the PCB has withdrawn and backed down in its selection of the three ICL players included in its preliminary Twenty20 World Cup squad of 30, causing more embarrassment for itself. We had hoped, in a previous post, that the board would show some fight and stand up to this ridiculous ICL ban but they have once again shown their lack of spine.

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